Farewell

Ye Qian cried out and wordlessly pushed the little dragon away. "Could you stop acting like a dog?"

Lan Xinyu happened to walk in from outside at that moment. The moment she saw the two girls, one big and one small, lying on the floor, her heart melted.

"Oh my God, so cute."

She lay down directly and wrapped Ye Qian in a hug.

"It's so cold today. Let's keep each other warm tonight, hehe."

Whoosh—

Amia spat out a small flame.

"Ah!" Lan Xinyu recoiled to the side and said helplessly, "This little one wants to keep you all to herself."

Ye Qian shrugged helplessly.

Thinking of something, she said to the little Ancient Dragon Loli, "If it isn't too tiring, how about breathing out a little flame to warm me up? I'm freezing."

The little girl stared blankly at Ye Qian's face. Then, as if her heart ached for her, she gently patted Ye Qian's head and breathed a fresh ball of fire to the side.

"Mama... not cold."

The dragon-language cry made Lan Xinyu clutch her head and dash out the door. "I can't take this anymore. I'm going to the newly built house next door."

Ye Qian looked at the scene in surprise. Feeling those tiny hands patting her head, she could not help tightly hugging Amia and planting a heavy kiss on her cheek.

This was amazing!

Then, under the gentle flames, Ye Qian's clothes dried.

The petite Ye Qian hugged her adopted "daughter," closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Lan Xinyu sneakily came to peek through the window for a while. In the end, she sighed and returned to her own house.

Meanwhile, Chen Ning finished building the Arrow Tower by the mine and erected a second one.

After that night, the number of Skeletons increased by two, including one Skeleton Wolf and one Skeleton Rabbit.

Early the next morning, Amia yawned, then turned around and rubbed against Ye Qian's legs, waking her from her dream.

"It's already the third day."

As usual, breakfast in this otherworld was basically limited to Purified meat.

However, now that it had been roasted over the Dragon Loli's flames and seasoned with spices bought from the store, it was incredibly delicious.

This little dragon had a huge appetite. She ate five kilograms of wolf meat in one go. Despite her tiny size and weight, she simply stuffed the meat into her mouth without chewing, swallowed a few times, and sent it straight into her stomach.

"Ordinary people really couldn't afford to raise you."

Ye Qian felt that Amia was probably already the strongest combat force in the territory.

Chen Ning sat across from them. Seeing the two girls, he finally cleared his throat. "I'm going to sleep. Keep it up, everyone."

"Go ahead." Ye Qian waved to him.

There was no helping the fact that some people had to reverse their day and night schedules. The territory was still too weak, though after a few more days of development, they probably would not need to go through such trouble.

From the recent conversations in the chat group, most homelands were developing very slowly, and everyone faced completely different circumstances. Some people did not even have any decent monsters nearby, so their early development was peaceful. They spent a long time steadily becoming powerful.

In contrast, Ye Qian's territory had not only encountered an absurdly powerful pangolin, but also that fugitive from The Holy See. Its environment could be considered extremely harsh.

But if one could survive in a harsh environment, it meant developing faster than others.

Still, none of that mattered to her.

All she needed was Life Energy.

What she had spent before was only to create a safer environment for the homeland. Now, she more or less had everything she needed: an Ancient Dragon, Skeleton creatures, and Arrow Towers. This combination of combat forces was stronger than that of the vast majority of newcomers' homelands, so survival was assured.

At this point, earning Life Energy for herself became extremely important.

Besides, the process itself would also allow construction to continue.

Leading five Skeleton Wolves and holding the little dragon girl's hand, Ye Qian set off toward the northwest of the territory.

Today's goal was to search outward around the mining area and kill every red dot she saw.

After an entire day of fighting, Amia's strength rose to LV8, with her average attributes reaching more than ten points. Ye Qian herself also killed quite a few monsters, bringing her total stored Life Energy to 1,620 units.

She spent 1,260 to raise herself to LV15.

"I'm getting closer and closer to level 20."

The Life Energy required for the later levels looked greater, but the experience needed for each level was still cumulative in nature. At her current pace, she would reach the requirements for advancement before long.

"Looks like I need to start thinking ahead about how to break through the level 20 limit."

They kept at it until nightfall. After a simple meal and sleeping until five or six in the morning, Ye Qian discovered that there were only two hours left before her return.

Although that was indeed the scheduled time, she could choose not to leave.

She could remain for another twenty-four hours before being forcibly logged out.

Without question, none of the three wanted to leave immediately under such circumstances.

Their homeland was developing quite well now, and staying a little longer brought obvious gains.

On the final day, no one slept. Although the backlash from Ye Qian summoning her clone had not fully subsided and her body looked terribly weak, she still insisted on leading her subordinates outside to fight. With Amia's abilities, they even killed several pangolins.

The area within five kilometers around the territory was cleared that night.

In the end, her remaining Life Energy reached 2,600 points.

"Spending 2,520 will bring me right to LV19."

Farewell

"My level rose so quickly. It's a shame I can't reach level 20."

Glancing at the time and seeing three hours remaining, Ye Qian took Amia on one last circuit. After accumulating a full 200 units of Life Energy, she returned to the territory.

"It's almost over. The development this time was very good, though I suspect that when we return next time, the homeland may have suffered some degree of destruction again." Chen Ning put on his coat and sighed as he watched the two girls in the rain.

Ye Qian turned to look at Amia beside her and patted her head. "I want to know whether there's a way to bring creatures from this world back to reality. Like her, for example."

Chen Ning shook his head decisively. "I'm afraid not. Only abilities are allowed to be brought back to reality... As for items, it's theoretically possible, but the conditions are extremely harsh, let alone living individuals."

"I see."

Ye Qian glanced at the soft and adorable little girl with disappointment.

The little dragon girl hugged Ye Qian's leg and looked up at her expectantly. She licked Ye Qian's leg with her tongue, making it a little ticklish. Ye Qian tapped her on the head and said with a blush, "Stop sticking your tongue out like a puppy all day."

Honestly, she had no idea how long it would be before she could return after leaving this time, so she was still a little worried about the little one.

Although Amia had already reached LV9, her level was still too low.

"I prepared a whole pile of marinated meat for you. It's all been Purified, so just eat it whenever you're hungry. Try not to leave the homeland if nothing happens. If you really run out of food, hunt nearby and come right back. You're not allowed to go too far."

The little dragon girl nodded hard.

"Hehe, such a good girl." Ye Qian rubbed the little one's cheeks.

"Oh my God, I'm so jealous." Lan Xinyu drooled as she watched Ye Qian. "A tiny mama and a tiny daughter, waaah."

"Ahem, then that's it for today. After all, there's no way to obtain Life Energy in reality." Chen Ning still looked perfectly serious, not even glancing at Ye Qian.

"There's no way to obtain Life Energy in reality?" Ye Qian looked at him in surprise.

"That's right. In the world where we live, killing any living creature will not grant energy. Only forces like The Church have special methods of storing energy, and the specific methods of advancement can basically only be obtained from those major powers. Of course, many Transcendents possess extraordinary items that store Life Energy and trade them underground. But if you want to become stronger, you still fundamentally have to rely on certain forces."

Hearing this, Ye Qian was genuinely surprised.

Because in the real world, she had discovered that after killing those people, she had also gained Life Energy.

But Chen Ning said that was impossible.

She frowned. After calming down and thinking it over, she suddenly felt that it should be this way. After all, if anyone could grow stronger simply by killing people, wouldn't reality descend into chaos?

Clearly, there were some restrictions on how people's strength could grow.

"The advancement you mentioned just now... does it mean breaking through some sort of limit? It can't be done in the Main World or dungeon spaces?"

"Yes. Once you reach LV20, you'll face a certain threshold. If we compare our leveling process to playing a game, then level 20 is like the eve of a class advancement. Of course, this advancement is far from as simple as completing a quest in a game. From what I know, there may be certain life-threatening dangers involved."

Chen Ning gazed into the distant sky, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

"It's actually that difficult? Whew... If we don't advance when the time comes, there shouldn't be any problem, right?" Lan Xinyu grew worried.

"Hmph. No matter what, we have to find a way to become stronger. You never know what dangers you'll encounter in the worlds you experience. Reality isn't absolutely safe either. I've recently come into contact with some people and learned a few secrets about the real world. That world doesn't just have player groups like ours. It's far more complicated than it appears on the surface."

"This..."

Ye Qian watched the two talking, putting on a surprised expression.

But thinking back on it, she really did have the ability to absorb Life Energy in reality. During her dealings with the Shadow Bureau, she had also received 600 points of Life Energy as a reward through Shi Jing.

Perhaps that proved Chen Ning was right.

"We're about to leave. Spend the remaining time tidying up the territory, cutting down some trees, and getting ready to go." Chen Ning said.

"Mm." Ye Qian nodded and began the final cleanup.

Very soon, the final minute arrived—the eve of their departure.

"Little cutie, Mama... I'm leaving." Ye Qian stroked the little dragon girl's head and smiled. "See you next time."

Unexpectedly, the little one's eyes immediately shimmered with crystal-clear tears.

A few seconds later...

"Waaah—"

The little cutie suddenly burst into loud tears.

"Ah, don't cry, don't cry. I'll come back, so don't worry about me."

Ye Qian hurriedly hugged her, her heart completely melting.

Oh God, she looked so pitiful. You're a dragon—do you really have to cry this hard?

"Don't go, Mama—"

Ye Qian: "..."

"Don't be afraid. Your mama—and all of us—will come back soon." Lan Xinyu hurried over to comfort her.

Unfortunately, the little girl continued crying miserably.

The time was up.

Everyone vanished at once...

When Ye Qian came back to her senses, her main body had already returned to the hotel.

Looking down, she saw the little dragon girl's tears on her body.

"I..."

She suddenly felt empty inside.

It would have been fine if that little one had not cried, but she had cried so heartbreakingly at the end that Ye Qian could not help worrying about her.

"That world isn't safe. I hope Amia doesn't go around recklessly by herself. She can easily defeat pangolins now, but if she encounters stronger monsters, she'll be in danger."

She took out her phone. Lan Xinyu had already sent messages in the group chat.

Lan Xinyu: "Oh my God, she was so pitiful, waaah. If only we could bring Amia to reality. Such a pitiful little one."

Chen Ning: "Don't worry. She's a dragon. Her average attributes are already in the teens, her skills are so strong, and she's tough as nails. With so many Arrow Towers and Skeleton monsters protecting her, I don't believe she'll be in danger."

Lan Xinyu: "Even so, it's still pitiful for her to be separated from her mama."

Lan Xinyu: "Wait... damn it, Ye Qian isn't her mama. But she might as well be. She's still so pitiful."

Chen Ning: "Did Ye Qian tell her anything?"

After thinking for a moment, Ye Qian replied, "I handed all the command over to her. I also told the Skeletons to basically listen to her and prioritize protecting themselves."

Chen Ning: "That's good. She's a golden Ancient Hero. Do you know how rare that is? Getting one is harder than pulling two golds in a ten-pull in a game."

Ye Qian: "Stop talking. You're making me worry."

The chat quickly ended, and Ye Qian sighed.